Remember how I mentioned the other day, with unbated breath, that Joe Wilson was going to unveil his agenda for this session of Congress? Well, here it is:
Wilson’s Agenda for 2013:
Create Jobs Through Economic Growth: Cut excessive red tape and regulations to help small businesses grow; Work with county, regional and state agencies to attract businesses to South Carolina; Protect South Carolina’s “Right to Work” laws; Defund the Government Healthcare Takeover Bill
Reducing Washington’s Out of Control Spending: Require a vote on Congressional pay; Make the government more accountable by sponsoring legislation calling for biennial appropriations; Support a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution; Efficiencies within federal government agencies
Energy Independence and Efficiency: Promote construction of Keystone XL Pipeline; Fight to ensure South Carolina does not become our nation’s dumping ground for Spent Nuclear Fuel; Work to promote clean energy across our state via Energy Saving Performance Contracts
And right next to that in my Inbox, I see that the the Republican caucus in our state Senate have an agenda, too:
Senate Republican Caucus unveils jobs and reform agendaColumbia, SC – January 8, 2013 – The Senate Republican Caucus today announced a six-point legislative agenda, centered on growing the economy and reforming government.Jobs and the Economy:Transportation Reform – The Caucus will support structural and funding changes to our state’s infrastructure maintenance and construction process to make sure every dollar is maximized and allocated based on merit. The Caucus will explore mechanisms for increasing funding to meet growing infrastructure needs without raising taxes.Spending Caps – Congress’ recent inability to deal effectively with the Fiscal Cliff could have paralyzed the country’s economy. South Carolina needs a real spending cap to provide for sustainable and predictable growth in state spending. Doing so protects taxpayers, businesses and those served by government by helping guard against unexpected tax increases or cuts to services.Cyber Security – It’s critical that taxpayers and businesses know their information is secure when they interact with government. The Caucus will make it a priority to enhance cyber security so that people can conduct business in South Carolina with confidence.Government reform:Ethics Reform – The Senate, the House, and the Governor’s Office are all in the process of reviewing our state’s antiquated Ethics laws and making recommendations to modernize them for the 21st Century. The Senate Caucus believes strongly that voters need more transparency and information about the people representing them in order to hold their elected leaders accountable for their decisions.Ballot Reform – The Senate Caucus will act quickly to fix state law in regards to ballot access, to make sure candidates are not again denied access to the ballot as hundreds were this year. In addition, the Caucus plans to correct the disparity in filing requirements between incumbents and challengers.Department of Administration – Last year, the Senate passed the first bill by either legislative chamber to completely eliminate the Budget and Control Board and create a Department of Administration. The Caucus believes that we need clear lines of accountability in state government.Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler noted that with a one-seat GOP pickup in the Caucus that the agenda stands a good chance for passage this year:“These are issues that all conservatives should be able to agree on, and they’re issues that the people of South Carolina clearly want us to move forward with,” Peeler said. “I am committed to making sure these items remain a priority throughout the session, and that we work with the House to move these bills to the Governor’s desk.”In addition to announcing its agenda, the Caucus also re-elected Senator Peeler to the post of Senate Majority Leader. Peeler named Senators Danny Verdin and Shane Massey as Majority Whips.On the Web: http://www.scsenategop.com/2013-agenda/ ###
Agendas, it seems, are like opinions (or something): Everybody’s got one. Except yours truly, of course.
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Oh, wait — you wanted me to say what I think of the Senate’s agenda? OK, here’s goes:
Transportation reform — Yes, we always need improvement in this regard. By the way, here’s what Peeler means when he says it.
Spending caps — Total insanity. No rational person with even a passing acquaintance with South Carolina would think this is something we need — aside from the fact that governing by mathematical formula is a profound slap in the face to the very idea of representative democracy. Anyway, South Carolina has a spending cap — it’s the constitutional requirement that our budget be balanced. Given that these jokers would rather beat up their mothers than raise a tax, that’s a pretty absolute cap.
Cyber Security — Duh.
Ethics reform — Yup. Of course, we’d do better by just not electing some of our poster children on this issue, starting with our governor.
Ballot reform — Yup. Needs fixing.
Department of Administration — A tiny, baby step in the direction of a rational form of government. Ridiculous that we have so much trouble getting it done.
Bleh.
Details, details, details.
“Reducing Washington’s Out of Control Spending: Require a vote on Congressional pay; Make the government more accountable by sponsoring legislation calling for biennial appropriations; Support a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution; Efficiencies within federal government agencies”
Any program for controlling spending that doesn’t include entitlements is a dud. Medicare, Medicaid and social security.
Pick one of the and run with it.
“Agendas, it seems, are like opinions (or something): Everybody’s got one. Except yours truly, of course.”
There is nothing wrong with having an agenda.
I actively support Bill Taylor’s FOIA reforms and Ethics reforms. I also frequently consult with council on my opinion as a constituent. I also have an agenda for responsible economic development in Columbia.
Agendas are only troublesome when they are not in the best interest of the Organization.
Sorry again. The GOP agenda needs to really address FOIA reform as well too. The house did their part last year. Senate needs to really address this as well.
Admittedly this is on MY agenda. I openly petition legislature on twitter and email on it.
I even use SNAIL MAIL for the less techy legislature.
“I even use SNAIL MAIL for the less techy legislature.”
Does Hugh Leatherman read your telegrams?
But not all of them are low-tech.
Yesterday, when Wesley Donehue sent out a release saying Republicans would elect their leader in the Senate today, I wrote back to ask whether anyone was running against Harvey Peeler. He said no. So I said, “So whoever the new majority leader is, he’ll be good at Twitter.”
If you don’t follow anyone else in the Legislature on Twitter, you should follow Harvey. And Nathan Ballentine, of course. There are some Democrats who indulge as well, although none particularly stand out in my mind at the moment…
I wish Mia was on twitter more.
Her Blog posts/ press releases are entertaining.
What is a telegram?
One corresponds on heavy cream-coloured paper and blue-black ink.
Its a way to try to get the message across.
To me its just another extension of accessing people. Twitter is great for some, others respond well to facebook, some emails.
If all else fails I send a letter in the mail. Its so rare its likely to get noticed. I also send a thank you note after I interview someone for the first time. Its about building relationships as much as it is the interviews.
“Spending Caps – Congress’ recent inability to deal effectively with the Fiscal Cliff could have paralyzed the country’s economy.”
Does this sentence bother anybody else? Granted, Congress did a bad job with the fiscal cliff, but was their performance truly ineffective? I would go with minimally adequate, personally. Maybe barely effective. But If Congress was ineffective, as this states, but the economy was presumably not paralyzed, then what is the variable that allowed the economy to continue in spite of Congress being ineffective, if the above statement is true that such ‘could’ have paralyzed the economy but didn’t?
Or did they mean to say, Congress’ recent ‘almost’ inability to deal effectively with the Fiscal Cliff could have paralyzed the country’s economy.
“then what is the variable that allowed the economy to continue in spite of Congress being ineffective, ”
The variable is the actual probability of a fiscal cliff causing economic instability. That probability was close to zero anyway. Congress is ineffective over a long term, not in a single moment. That’s what causes the economic instability we have seen for decades. A simplified, conservative, balanced approach would lead to economic stability. Constant tinkering, loopholes, regulations, and attempts to control markets leads to instability.